Life’s Small Pleasures and Joyful Moments

Life’s Small Pleasures and Joyful Moments

“It’s so much easier to learn to love what you have instead of yearning always
for what you’re missing, or what you imagine you’re missing. It’s so much more peaceful.”

– Anna Quindlen, One True Thing

As I write these newsletters, my aim is to share ideas that can make a positive difference. I aspire to communicate about compelling and useful topics, such as meaning, leadership, resilience, positive psychology, mindfulness, well-being, life force, and intuition.

These are significant issues, but what about life’s small pleasures?How important are even the briefest moments of joy?

A conversation with a friend last night reminded me that the littlest moments can bring joy and meaning to our personal and professional lives. These brief joyful glimpses, life’s small pleasures, offer opportunities for renewal, peace, and respite. As Gandhi is quoted as saying, “There is more to life than merely increasing its speed.”

Here’s a brief list of a few of life’s small pleasures:

Smiling at someone and silently wishing them a good dayNoticing and feeling the sunshineHolding hands with a loved oneLaughing out loudRealizing you have more time to sleep in the morningClosing your eyes when feeling really tiredDriving the car with the windows openListening deeply in a conversationSharing a quiet moment with a friendReceiving a card, letter, or package in the “snail” mailLighting a candle and sitting in the lightReading a book with a childListening, singing, or drumming along to a favorite songEating food slowly enough to really notice the tastePausing to sit quietly for a moment, and letting that be enoughThinking about something you feel thankful forSharing a genuine expression of gratitude, or receiving one

New scientific discoveries about positivity show the remarkable benefits of even the smallest positive moments. Life’s variety of positive emotions are available to any of us “from appreciation to love, from amusement to joy, from hope to gratitude, and then some” (Barbara Fredrickson, PhD, Positivity).